Daughter of the Nile
Encyclopedia
Daughter of the Nile (I kori tou Neilou
) is a 1987
Feature film
by Taiwan
ese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien
.
called Crest of the Royal Family
who is hailed as Daughter of the Nile. The film is a study of the life of young people in contemporary Taipei
urban life, focusing on the marginalised figure of a woman and centred on a fast-food server's hapless crush on a gigolo. The introductory sequence of the film suggests a parallel between the difficulties faced by people in the film (Taiwan's urban youth, transitioning from a classical civilization into a changing world) and the mythic struggles of characters in the Egypt
ian Book of the Dead
.
It features Taiwan pop singer
Lin Yang
, Jack Kao
(Kao Jai) as her brother, and Tianlu Li
in the role of the grandfather. Li became a central part of Hou's major films, and Kao starred in several of them.
), tries to keep her family together while working as a waitress at Kentucky Fried Chicken and going to night school. Her mother and older brother are dead. Her father (Fu Sheng Tsui) works out of town. It's up to Lin Hsiao-yang to take care of her pre-teen sister, who has already begun to steal, and a brother (Jack Kao
) who is a burglar and gang member.
Additional cast
, Hou's first film to be distributed in the United States, make Daughter ripe for rediscovery, summarizing "Daughter's themes and immediate imagery would be the future of Hou.".
.
When it screened in January 1988 at the AFI Fest, the Washington Post wrote "Hou Hsiao-hsien has the slickness that gives Daughter of the Nile the most East-West crossover appeal. In September 1988 it screened at both the Toronto Film Festival and the New York Film Festival
. After the NYFF screening, Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote the film "...is not about alienation as much as it is an example of it. It is an artifact from a revolution taking place elsewhere". When it aired at the Chicago International Film Festival
in October, 1988, Lloyd Sachs of the Chicago Sun-Times
wrote "slow and grudgingly revealing, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Daughter of the Nile" does not lend itself to easy description".
In October 1999 the film was screened as part of a Hou Hsiao-hsien retrospective by New York
's Anthology Film Archives
. In October 2000 it was screened in a Taiwanese film retrospective at both the National Gallery of Art
and the Freer Gallery.
In April 2002 in screened at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
in Brazil
, and in 2005 it screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival
in Greece.
In December 2006 it screened as part of a Hou Hsiao-hsien retrospective at the Canadian National Film Repository.
, and entered into the Directors' Fortnight
at Cannes Film Festival
.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
) is a 1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
Feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
by Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
.
Background
The film's title is a reference to a character in a mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
called Crest of the Royal Family
Crest of the Royal Family
, is a shōjo manga by Hosokawa Chieko. It has run in the monthly magazine Princess since 1976. In 1991, it received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo...
who is hailed as Daughter of the Nile. The film is a study of the life of young people in contemporary Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
urban life, focusing on the marginalised figure of a woman and centred on a fast-food server's hapless crush on a gigolo. The introductory sequence of the film suggests a parallel between the difficulties faced by people in the film (Taiwan's urban youth, transitioning from a classical civilization into a changing world) and the mythic struggles of characters in the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
.
It features Taiwan pop singer
Pop Singer
"Pop Singer" is the début single from London-based glam rockers Rachel Stamp. It was released in February, 1996 through WEA. The single was released as a 2 track CD Single and limited edition pink 7" vinyl of 1000 copies...
Lin Yang
Yang Lin
Yang Lin is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 51st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 15th of the 72 Earthly Fiends...
, Jack Kao
Jack Kao
Jack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
(Kao Jai) as her brother, and Tianlu Li
Li Tian-lu
Li Tian-lu is a principal character in the trilogy of historical films of Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-The Trilogy:The Puppetmaster tells the true story of Li's life as a master puppeteer faced with demands to turn his skills to propaganda during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in...
in the role of the grandfather. Li became a central part of Hou's major films, and Kao starred in several of them.
Synopsis
Lin Hsiao-yang (Lin YangYang Lin
Yang Lin is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 51st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 15th of the 72 Earthly Fiends...
), tries to keep her family together while working as a waitress at Kentucky Fried Chicken and going to night school. Her mother and older brother are dead. Her father (Fu Sheng Tsui) works out of town. It's up to Lin Hsiao-yang to take care of her pre-teen sister, who has already begun to steal, and a brother (Jack Kao
Jack Kao
Jack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
) who is a burglar and gang member.
Cast
- Lin YangYang LinYang Lin is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 51st of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 15th of the 72 Earthly Fiends...
as Lin Hsiao-yang - Jack KaoJack KaoJack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
as Lin Hsiao-fang, the brother - Fan Yang as Ah-sang
- Tianlu LiLi Tian-luLi Tian-lu is a principal character in the trilogy of historical films of Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-The Trilogy:The Puppetmaster tells the true story of Li's life as a master puppeteer faced with demands to turn his skills to propaganda during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in...
as Grandfather - Fu Sheng Tsui as Father
- Xin Shufen as Xiao-fen, Shao Fang's fiance
- Yu An-shun as Hsiao-yang's Classmate
- Wu Nian-zhen as Tutor
Additional cast
- Huang Chiung-yao
- Chen Chien-wen
- Yang Tzu-tei
- Lin Chu
- Chen Shu-fang
- Cai Cande
- Tian Weiwei
- You Jingru
- Lei Guowei
- Zue Zhizheng
- Zhu Youcheng
Critical response
In his in-depth analysis of Daughter of the Nile, Michael Joshua Rowin of Reverse Shot wrote that Daughter is one of Hou's most accessible films, and that although the film never found theatrical distribution in the United States and never received a home video release, its foreshadowing of the themes Hou would later use in Millennium MamboMillennium Mambo
Millennium Mambo directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, is a 2001 film.-Synopsis:The main character, Vicky, portrayed by actress Shu Qi narrates from 2011 about her life 10 years earlier. She describes her youth and story of her changing life at the beginning of the new Millennium. She...
, Hou's first film to be distributed in the United States, make Daughter ripe for rediscovery, summarizing "Daughter's themes and immediate imagery would be the future of Hou.".
Screenings and reception
The film was originally released in October 1987 at the Turin International Film Festival of Young Cinema in Italy, where it won a Special Jury Prize in the International Feature Film Competition for Hou Hsiao-hsienHou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement.-Biography:...
.
When it screened in January 1988 at the AFI Fest, the Washington Post wrote "Hou Hsiao-hsien has the slickness that gives Daughter of the Nile the most East-West crossover appeal. In September 1988 it screened at both the Toronto Film Festival and the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
. After the NYFF screening, Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote the film "...is not about alienation as much as it is an example of it. It is an artifact from a revolution taking place elsewhere". When it aired at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
in October, 1988, Lloyd Sachs of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
wrote "slow and grudgingly revealing, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Daughter of the Nile" does not lend itself to easy description".
In October 1999 the film was screened as part of a Hou Hsiao-hsien retrospective by New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives
__notoc__Anthology Film Archives is a film archive and theater located at 32 Second Avenue on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film. It is the only non-profit organization of its...
. In October 2000 it was screened in a Taiwanese film retrospective at both the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
and the Freer Gallery.
In April 2002 in screened at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
The Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and in 2005 it screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
The Thessaloniki International Film Festival has become one of the Balkans' primary showcases for the work of new and emerging filmmakers...
in Greece.
In December 2006 it screened as part of a Hou Hsiao-hsien retrospective at the Canadian National Film Repository.
Awards
Daughter of the Nile won the special jury prize at the 1987 Turin International Festival of Young CinemaTorino Film Festival
The Torino Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival...
, and entered into the Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. The section was created in 1969 after the events of May 1968, in which the Cannes festival was canceled in solidarity with striking workers....
at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
Additional reading
- Literary culture in Taiwan: martial law to market law by Sung-sheng Chang ISBN 0231132344
- Senses of Cinema, "Hou Hsiou-hsien's Urban Female Youth Trilogy", by Daniel Kasman
- New Chinese cinemas: forms, identities, politics, by Nick Browne ISBN 0521448778
- Envisioning Taiwan: fiction, cinema, and the nation in the cultural imaginary, by June Chun Yip ISBN 0822333678